Deafblindness

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Deafblindness is a complex sensory disabilities in which deafness and blindnessoccur together. The term usually refers not only to the complete loss of hearing and vision, but also to the much more frequent combination of more or less severe hearing and visual impairments. Central problems of the people concerned are mobility and spatial orientation on the one hand, and communication on the other, which is made possible with the help of a large number of different communication systems. These problems give rise to needs that go beyond those of the blind and deaf. Deafblindness is a disability that has distinct characteristics. In contrast to blind or deaf people, those affected cannot compensate for the functional impairment of one sense of distance (seeing / hearing) with the other sense. They are dependent on needs-based and permanent support and assistance in order to live independently and to be able to participate in society.

Symptoms and ailments

Basically one can differentiate between:

  • born blind and deaf from language acquisition ,
  • born blind and deaf after language acquisition,
  • born deafblind,
  • born deaf and blind in childhood,
  • Born deaf and blind in old age,
  • born neither deaf nor blind; later deaf and blinded (either at the same time or at different times).

It is easy to imagine that blind-specific aids play a greater role in the first three situations, that in the two situations mentioned then it is possible to belong to the deaf (cultural) community , and in the latter situation a completely different (considerably needy) life is led.

causes

There are more than 70 different causes of deaf blindness, one of which is Usher Syndrome . Generally one can divide into two broad areas: acquired and congenital deafblindness.

Deaf blindness as a disability of its own

The members of all parliamentary groups in the German Bundestag agree with the Federal Working Group of the Deaf-„Bl“ Blind and the German Association of the Deaf that the „Gl“combination of blind and deaf is no substitute for its own mark „TBl“. Deafblindness is a disability in its own right; those affected have special needs that cannot be compared with those of deaf or blind people. The deafblind life foundation , the federal working group for deafblind people and the association Leben mit Usher-Syndrom„TBl“ handed over 14,000 signatures for the mark to the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs on March 20, 2013 . The SPD parliamentary group submitted a corresponding motion to the German Bundestag on November 27, 2012. The conference of labor and social affairs ministers unanimously decided to introduce the mark in November 2012. Work is now underway to recognize the needs of deafblind people and to create achievements. There are around 6,000 deaf-blind people in Germany.

Since December 30, 2016, deaf blindness has been recognized as a disability of its own in Germany. On this day, the Federal Participation Act (BTHG) was published in the Federal Law Gazette and from this date the mark “TBl” - deaf-blind - has been introduced for deaf-blind people in the severely handicapped ID card .

treatment

Deaf blindness is a disability, not a disease. The following is a description of what is helpful in overcoming the limitations of both remote senses:

If you have poor eyesight, certain reading aids (large screens , reading magnifiers) can be used. Learning sign languages with the help of haptic sensory perceptions such as feeling and touch is another way to improve communication skills. Hearing aids can be used if the hearing ability is poor . A small number of deafblind children are also fitted with a cochlear implant ; H. with a hearing prosthesis. This is possible when the auditory nerve is functional.

Consequences and complications

Deafblindness makes it very difficult to lead an independent life . School education ( special school ), career choice , working life, partnership or marriage , raising children , mobility and coping with everyday life are severely impaired.

In this context, blindness makes spatial orientation , mobility and the inclusion of all the information that is exclusively or predominantly only available optically more difficult .

Deafness restricts communication so conversation requires tactile sign language (touch language ), e.g. B. Lormen or Tadoma .

In countries in which the resolutions of the Milan Congress of 1880 were implemented (e.g. Germany and other German-speaking countries), those affected were often unable to freely choose their form of communication . Here is the Lormen (keyed in which the palm is) widely used, while in many other countries of deafblind people the "guided gesture " is used, a special sign language adapted to the fact that they from the "hearing" at the hands of "Speaking" is sensed.

The Oberlinhaus in Potsdam was an exception . From 1887 to 1962 the only school and residential facility for deafblind people in Germany was located here. Right from the start, dactylated and / or close-to-body (tactile) signs were used here.

Deafblind assistance

Since May 2012 there has been an agreement between the Deafblind Assistants Association (TBA) and the health insurance companies in North Rhine-Westphalia on deafblind assistance for health and long-term care insurance benefits. This agreement stipulates that people with deaf blindness receive paid deafblind assistance. Baden-Württemberg followed this regulation in 2014, in other federal states there is still no reimbursement of costs for deafblind assistance by the health insurance companies.

Famous deaf-blind people

Laura Bridgman (1829-1889) was at the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston (Massachusetts / USA) the first deaf-blind person who was made possible by Samuel Gridley Howe an education. Laura Bridgman lost her sense of hearing and sight at the age of two, and later also her sense of smell and taste, so she was only dependent on the sense of touch. Helen Keller (1880–1968) benefited from the education system developed for Bridgman for the deaf-blind, and she got to know Bridgman personally. Keller became the most famous deaf-blind person. At the age of 19 months, she lost her eyesight and hearing due to an illness that has not yet been precisely identified. Keller's literary talent was discovered by the Viennese philosopher Wilhelm Jerusalem , with whom he was in correspondence throughout his life and, with her help, was able to found a school and boarding school for the deaf-blind in Vienna in 1913. Marie Heurtin (1885–1921), who was born deaf-blind, was given the opportunity to go to school in Larnay (France). The deaf-blind Hertha Schulz (1876–1957) is known in German-speaking countries . Hertha Schulz was brought to the Oberlinhaus on January 14, 1887. She was ten years old at the time and could neither see nor hear. With her admission, the diaconal service for deaf-blind people in Germany began. Hertha learned to read, write and dactylate .

See also

Web links

literature

  • Verena Cardinaux, Hubert Cardinaux, Armin Löwe: Accept me. Raising deafblind children. Groos, Heidelberg 1981, ISBN 3-87276-250-8 .
  • Eun Cheong: Understanding “severely disabled” people. On the psychology and pedagogy of mentally handicapped people who are blindly deaf and mute. Afra-Verlag, Butzbach-Griedel 2002, ISBN 3-932079-63-9 .
  • David Etheridge (Ed.): The education of dual sensory impaired children. Recognition and developing ability. 1st edition. Fulton, London 1995, ISBN 1-85346-335-3 .
  • David Goode: A world without words. The social construction of children born deaf and blind. Temple Univ. Press (Health, society, and policy), Philadelphia 1994, ISBN 1-56639-216-0 .
  • Gudrun Lemke-Werner: Deaf blindness, hearing impairment. An overview. Ed. Bentheim, Würzburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-934471-77-1 .
  • Andrea Wanka , Hildegard Bruns, Almuth Kolb, Claudia Preißner, Annika Olschok: Deafblinden-Assistenz, Ein Lehrbuch Editor: Arbeitsgemeinschaft der TBA Qualification Institutes (AGTI) ISBN 978-3-941146-61-7

Individual evidence

  1. German Bundestag, printed matter 17/11676 of November 27, 2012 (PDF; 174 kB)
  2. Application TBL mark (PDF; 174 kB)
  3. Number also with Melanie Mühl: See nothing, hear nothing: Why nobody cares about the deaf-blind , in: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, June 22, 2013 online , accessed February 16, 2018. This number is the estimate of the "Joint Committee of Experts with hearing impaired vision / deafblind ", but one can assume that there are many more.
  4. deafblind , magazine for deafblind u. hearing-impaired people, publisher: Deutscher Blinden- und Sehbehindertenverband e. V., Issue 1 January / February 2017: Deaf blindness is recognized
  5. ^ Oberlinschule - history. Retrieved October 5, 2009.
  6. ^ Wilhelm Hochbaum: D. Theodor Hoppe. Father of the cripples and the deaf and dumb blind. A picture of life. Foundation publishing house , Potsdam 1935, OCLC 66771157 .
  7. ^ Association of deafblind assistants
  8. Laura Bridgman and the Music. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
  9. Helen Keller, Wilhelm Jerusalem and the establishment of the Vienna Deafblind Institute in 1913. In: Herbert Gantschacher (Ed.): Wilhelm Jerusalem - Helen Keller: 'Briefe'. ARBOS edition, 2012, ISBN 978-3-9503173-0-5 . Retrieved September 11, 2013.
  10. Hertha Schulz.Retrieved June 29, 2012.